List of the busiest airports explained

The definition of world's busiest airport has been specified by the Airports Council International in Montreal, Canada.^[1] The ACI defines and measures the following three types of airport traffic:

• Passenger traffic: total passengers embarked and disembarked, passengers in transit counted once^[2]
• Cargo traffic: loaded and unloaded freight and mail, by mass^[3]
• Traffic movements: landings and take-offs of aircraft^[4]

Busiest airports

The following airports make claims based on objective volume measures that are defined above (as per ACI):

• Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Most passengers annually (1998–2019, 2021–present)^{[5] [6]}

Most aircraft movements annually (2015–present)^[7]

• Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Most passengers annually (2020)^[8]

• Dubai International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Most international passengers annually (2014–present)^[9]

• Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Most cargo traffic by weight annually (2020–2021)^[10]

• Hong Kong International Airport, New Territories, Hong Kong.

Most cargo traffic by weight annually (2022–present)

Busiest city destination

• Airports of London combined, London, United Kingdom

Most passengers annually in all city airports combined (2010–present)^[11]

Historical claims

• Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, United States

In the late 1940s, Chicago Midway was the busiest airport in the United States by total aircraft operations – i.e., including every training aircraft practicing take-offs and landings.^[12] New York LaGuardia had the most airline operations and passengers until the early 1950s, when Chicago Midway became the busiest airport in the United States by any criterion. Before World War II, Chicago Midway was the origin or destination of one in four U.S. airline flights,^[13] although a 1939 Official Aviation Guide shows more airline flights scheduled at Newark than at Chicago.

• Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, United States

As the home of FedEx Express, Memphis had the largest cargo operations worldwide from 1993 to 2009. It remains the busiest cargo airport in the United States and the Western Hemisphere.^[14]

See also

• Lists of airports
• List of busiest airports by passenger traffic
• List of busiest airports by international passenger traffic
• List of busiest airports by cargo traffic
• List of busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic
• List of the busiest airports in the European Union
• List of the busiest airports in the Nordic countries
• List of the busiest airports in the Baltic states
• List of the busiest airports in Central America
• List of busiest airports in the United Kingdom
• List of the busiest airports in the Republic of Ireland
• List of the busiest airports in Turkey
• List of largest cargo airports in the United States

External links

• Airports Council International website. A representative industry body for the airport industry that provides air travel statistics.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Airports Welcome Record 4.4 Billion Passengers in 2006 . Airports Council International . 13 June 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080222072049/http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54_666_2__ . 22 February 2008.
2. Web site: Passenger Traffic 2007 Preliminary . Airports Council International . 13 June 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120429194226/http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-55_666_2__ . April 29, 2012 .
3. Web site: Cargo Traffic 2007 Preliminary . Airports Council International . 13 June 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080622012135/http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-4819_666_2__ . 22 June 2008.
4. Web site: Traffic Movements 2007 Preliminary . Airports Council International . 13 June 2008.
5. News: World's busiest airport title slips further from O'Hare's grasp . 14 February 2017 . Crain's Chicago Business. 26 January 2017 . Hinz, Greg.
6. Web site: The top 10 busiest airports in the world revealed . ACI World. 11 May 2022. Airports Council International. 11 April 2022.
7. Web site: World's busiest airports announced . CNN . 4 April 2016 . 6 April 2016 . Cripps, Karla.
8. News: China's Guangzhou airport crowns itself the world's busiest for 2020 . 14 February 2021 . Nikkei Asia. 25 January 2021 . Kenji Kawase.
9. Web site: Heathrow airport overtaken by Dubai as world's busiest . . 31 December 2014 . 8 January 2015.
10. Web site: World Airport Rankings 2010 from Airports Council International. 13 April 2011. 2011. Airports Council International. https://web.archive.org/web/20171214071536/https://centreforaviation.com/news/2011/03/16/world-airport-rankings-2010-hong-kong-eclipses-memphis-as-the-worlds-busiest-cargo-hub/page1. 14 December 2017. dead.
11. Web site: Beijing to overtake London as world's largest aviation hub . CAPA . 16 September 2011 . 21 September 2011.
12. American Aviation 15 Mar 1947, 15 Mar 1948, 15 Apr 1949, 15 Apr 1950
13. Web site: Region leads the way in flight . https://web.archive.org/web/20021219204002/http://www.thetracon.com/Region%20leads%20the%20way%20in%20flight.htm . dead . 19 December 2002 . 7 March 2008 . 18 July 1999 . Michelle Mullins.
14. Web site: Table 2 – TOTAL CARGO TRAFFIC 2013 – Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013 – High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport – Mar 31, 2014 . March 31, 2014 . 2014-07-06 . Airports Council International.